Aryan
Benevolent
Home
(ABH),
a
South
African
residential
care
facility
for
the
aged,
supported
by
Amitabh
Bachchan,
is
reportedly
in
the
centre
of
a
controversy,
for
not
following
regulations
during
the
current
nationwide
lockdown.
Aryan
Benevolent
Home
chief
executive
Naren
Pattundeen
and
building
contractor
Roshan
Lutchman
were
arrested
by
police,
for
not
having
the
required
permits
to
build
a
COVID-19
isolation
ward
at
the
Chatsworth
home
for
the
elderly.
ABH
was
constructing
a
24-bed
ward
facility
when
the
police
arrived
at
the
site.
The
construction
was
taking
place
as
a
part
of
their
disaster
management
plan
to
prepare
for
a
possible
outbreak
in
the
home,
which
caters
scores
of
senior
citizens.
Contractor
Lutchman
told
an
online
portal
that
he
and
Pattundeen
were
in
possession
of
valid
permits
to
operate
during
the
lockdown,
which
the
police
refused
to
accept
as
valid.
The
police
said
that
they
will
be
locking
everyone
up
at
the
site,
which
includes
38
workers,
packed
in
batches
of
12
police
vans.
They
were
escorted
to
the
police
station
in
Chatsworth.
Lutchman
revealed
that
the
police
said,
"social
distancing
was
not
possible
at
the
police
station
and
everyone
was
packed
into
a
courtyard
until
police
allowed
his
workers
to
leave
with
a
warning." According
to
the
report,
Lutchman
and
Pattundeen
were
held
in
a
cell
and
were
released
after
the
attorney
secured
their
bail.
"We
have
engaged
our
attorneys
to
challenge
our
unlawful
arrest.
It
was
disrespectful
and
demoralising
-
the
way
they
handled
us
was
as
if
we
were
selling
drugs
or
alcohol,
Their
conduct
was
really
shocking.
The
ABH
staff
watched
a
senior
member
being
arrested
like
a
crook,
while
my
staff
watched
me
being
arrested"
he
added.
They
also
plan
to
lodge
a
complaint
with
the
Independent
Police
Investigative
Directorate.
Actor
Amitabh
Bachchan
has
been
very
supportive
of
the
ABH
for
years
after
he
first
visited
in
2002,
for
the
South
African
leg
of
the
megastar
Bollywood
show
Now
or
Never.
Two
years
ago,
he
also
endorsed
a
fundraising
campaign
for
the
ABH.